Friday, November 21, 2008

We first posted about how 37 year old Craig Johnson who was one 7 members of a gang ... and claimed "mastermind" ...who were involved in a highly successful £68 million VAT fraud (probably part of a greater £138 Mn. fraud resulting in 21 people jailed for up to 130 years) . He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to laundering £6.3 million from the proceeds of crime and was given a two year jail sentence at Birmingham Crown Court - VAT fraud - launder £6 Mn get 2 years Saturday, September 27, 2008 which was added to 10 years for fraud in 2006 when after Operation Emersed, 12 people – including Johnson – were jailed for a total of 75 years..

Yesterday, at a confiscation hearing at Wolverhampton Crown Court he was handed down a repayment order for £28 Mn - £8m within the next 12 months and the remainder within a further 12 months. If Johnson does not repay the money he could face another 10 years in prison. The largest issued in UK courts. BBC photos of siezed assets, homes, helicopter, yacht, cars, watches, diamonds etc,

Johnson lived at his 300-year-old Meaford House with wife Amanda — now in Dubai with their children - where there is also suspected to be further property — and mistress Kim, who also took his surname.

The confiscation hearing, also involved 2 other defendants from the 12 strong gang – Linda Wragg, 44, of Hanchurch, Stoke-on-Trent, who previously got six-and-a-half years, (UPDATE - Wragg ordered to re-pay £88,685 to the public purse or face an extra 21 months in prison Nov 24th) and 28-year-old Steven Lipinski, from Essex, jailed for 6 years.

A second confiscation hearing is set for the beginning of January 2009, for 6 other criminal associates – Christopher Sanders, Robert Capewell, Gwyn Jones, Stephen Hancock, Nicholas Shipley, Anthony Trickett-Smith.

A third confiscation hearing is set for next March for the remaining three criminals – Charles McWhinnie, Catherine Temple and Sharon Hawcroft.

The total level of such VAT "carousel fraud" is unknown, but it was running at £400 Mn. monthly for several years - Current levels of such fraud have not been published but some official estimates say that Europe wide it costing European taxpayers up to £170bn a year - twice the European Union's annual budget.